Happy Tuesday, happy people! I got back from camping last night and realized I have a bigger workload than usual this week, and have less days to do it all in. Achieving 5 days of stuff in 4 days time means working at 125% of my usual pace… That’s a tall order! I’m exhausted just Read more about Running at 125% capacity this week…[…]

A reader wrote to me the other day… “Thank you for your time. Must take you hours to think and craft messages every day. Thank you for putting the time in” This is always nice to hear. BUT, what people don’t realize is… My input is tiny in comparison to your guys’ collective input. What Read more about Thank you. No, no… thank YOU![…]

There are helpers and hurters in this world… HELPERS give to others. They dance around life, happily inflating other people’s balloons and contributing to the society they want to live in. HURTERS take for themselves. They pop other people’s balloons as they mope through life, consumed solely with their own interests. Today: Are you going Read more about Are you helping or hurting?[…]

do-over (noun, informal) An opportunity to try or perform something a second time. “Life gives you unlimited do-overs – take advantage of them!” ***** Not sure who needs to hear this today. But it’s never too late to try again, or start again. Happy last day of June! Make it a great day 😀 – Joel Read more about Second Chance Day[…]

Today being chooseday and all… I’m choosing to be happy I’m choosing to work hard I’m choosing to SMILE I’m choosing to eat/drink healthy I’m choosing to be humble And most of all, I’m choosing to be unwaveringly positive and encouraging around everyone I meet. This world needs more positivity, and life’s too short to Read more about Tuesday = ChooseDay[…]

Good morning! I’d like to introduce you to my friends… From left to right, names are: Golden Attitude Golden Smile Golden Opportunity Golden Miracle Golden Generosity Golden Confidence Now, which one of these friends would you like to take around with you today? Actually, since it’s Monday, you take take all of them with you. Read more about A golden day ahead![…]

Mornin’ y’all! My Dad wrote this for you… 👇👇👇 Hi Everyone, They say that a person’s true wealth is what they have left over after you subtract all their money and all their material possessions. If that is so, then I am one of the “wealthiest” people in the world. I have a wonderful family, Read more about A message from my Dad…[…]

About 2 years ago, I got turned down for a job opportunity. I was crushed at the time. I thought it was a perfect fit for me. I remember waking up the next day and writing this email about rejection, trying my hardest to stay positive. But inside I felt like absolute crap. Friends tried Read more about Everything happens for a reason…[…]

“I’m stuck in this job” “I’m stuck in this city” “I’m stuck in this situation” “There’s nothing I can do about xyz” “My problem has no solution. I give up” Ever thought things like this? Me too. But know this… There is, and always be, something you can do to change your situation. The first Read more about Change your mindset = change your options[…]

Warren Buffet’s best advice… “Go to bed smarter than when you woke up.” “Read 500 pages – every week. That’s how knowledge builds up, just like compound interest.” ***** Happy Tuesday y’all! I don’t know about reading 500 pages exactly, but I love the idea that knowledge builds like compound interest. That’s why I’m trying Read more about The Buffett Formula[…]

Every day is a gift. TODAY is a gift. A gift to eat, snack, cook, and share meals. A gift to exercise, get outside, enjoy the weather, and listen to the nature. A gift to laugh, joke and bond with others. A gift to do… whatever it is that you want to do! Happy weekend Read more about Enjoy your gifts!![…]

Happy Friday good people! Today (apparently) is “National Making Life Beautiful Day”. I say ‘apparently’ because I suspect this is a recently made up holiday. Just like National Corn on the Cob Day or German Chocolate Cake Day (These are also celebrated today actually) But hey, anything to do with making life beautiful is fine Read more about National “Making Life Beautiful” Day[…]

If you eat junk food all day every day, your physical health will decline rapidly. We all know there are consequences for what we put into our bodies. “Garbage input = Garbage output” Well, it’s the same with information you let into your brain each day. If your days are filled with mindless social media, Read more about Garbage in = garbage out.[…]

There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says “Morning, boys. How’s the water?” And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes “What Read more about Life is all around[…]

Did you know… Cows “moo” with an accent? It’s true. Cows on the east coast “moo” in a different tone than cows on the west coast, or in the south. Actually, each small herd has different accent. Scientists say cows have “identifiable dialectal variations which are most effected by the immediate peer group“ Hmmmmm… 🤔 Read more about Which cows are you hanging with? 🐮[…]

Happy 1st of the month! Today we’re celebrating #OneGoodThing in various areas of our life!… #OneGoodThing in Work: Today is my 1 year anniversary at my writing job. Woohoo! Also, my wife’s contract is being renewed for the next school year after the summer. We are grateful to have employment we enjoy 🙂 #OneGoodThing In Read more about One Good Thing[…]

Look around you. What do you see? Roof over head ✔️ Food in fridge ✔️ Friends ✔️ Love ✔️ Health ✔️ Luxuries ✔️ Freedom ✔️ Opportunities ✔️ “The secret to having it all in life… …is realizing that you already do.” Happy Sunday! – Joel   *Photo by Eleanor

Good morning, friends! Welcome to the BEST DAY OF YOUR LIFE! How do I know it will be the best day of your life?… Well, actually I don’t know. But, since you can’t tell me it won’t be the best, there’s a possibility it could be, right? I’m shooting for that possibility. Plus, yesterday is Read more about Get up, get going! 😎[…]

“I do not recall a time when negativity fixed anything” ​ Just a quick reminder: Approach everything with a positive attitude today. Good times, bad times, boring times, creative times, productive times, stressful times, at home, at work, with family and friends… Whatever you get up to today, always be positive. It’s better for you, Read more about Negativity helps no one.[…]

Couple reminders for you today… 1) You don’t need to please everyone this week. Prioritize your work first, then help others. 2) You are good at what you do. People look up to you, even if they don’t say it often. 3) Please & Thank You are magic words. Use them more and watch how Read more about Hello Monday![…]

“Do not let Sunday be taken from you. If your soul has no Sunday, it becomes an orphan”. – Albert Schweitzer   Happy Sunday y’all! Today is the end of a great week, and the beginning of a new great week. That’s double the greatness to celebrate today 🥳 Make it a good one! – Read more about Sunday Double Funday[…]

Did you know, in camera terms… the human eye is 576 megapixels! That’s a damn powerful camera you’ve got in your face! Well, 2 cameras actually, if we are talking about each eye ball. Anyway, while technology is awesome and it’s fun to check out people’s photos on insta and fb, be sure you also Read more about Your *real* camera 👀[…]

Is your cup half empty, or half full? Actually, I’m just thankful to have a cup. The tiniest things in life… are the best things. Learning to be grateful for these basic things is the foundation of a happy life. Today: Be thankful for your cup. (then go fill it with 🍺) Happy Thursday! Wishing Read more about Be thankful for your cup[…]

We can’t fix it all. Sure, some of it. But not all — the world is so big and we’re not magic, So let’s close the windows and sip black coffee and pretend (just for a few minutes) that the world is warm and quiet and bright and makes total logical sense. – Kenzie ***** Read more about Monday poem, by Kenzie[…]

This morning… Before logging into your social media accounts, log into your positive mindset. Are you ready to have a good day? 🤔 Before updating your online status, update your Sunday funday agenda! What 2-3 things are you doing to make today awesome!? 🏄‍♂️ 🚴🏻‍♂️ ⚽️ Before clicking ‘like’ on all your friends photos, recall Read more about First things first…[…]

Losing momentum? Feel like giving up? Time to get back on track: Set a small goal, (one that requires little to no effort to achieve) Smash that goal. Set another small goal, about 10% harder than the last. Smash that goal too. Build on these goals, slowly. 1 per day is enough. Get to 10 Read more about Getting back on track…[…]

“The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function.” – Albert Bartlett It’s totally OK if you are following path B! It might seem slow at first… but it leads to areas that people on path A can’t even fathom. Today: think exponentially. Compound interest, compound actions, compound achievements. Read more about Exponential thinking… 🏆[…]

As awesome as it is to see new places, meet new people, and try new foods… My biggest takeaway from traveling is appreciation for everything I have back home. Today I’m flying back to the people I love, the home I built, and the lifestyle I enjoy. “There is no place like home.” 👠👠 Today: Read more about The biggest thing I learn traveling…[…]

If you try and fail, CONGRATULATIONS! Most people won’t even try. TODAY: Try everything. You’ll win if it works out, and win if it doesn’t. There is no downside in trying. 🙂 Have a good one, – Joel Me (right) and my buddy Alan Donegan. He’s the one running the free rebel finance course with Read more about If you fail, congratulations.[…]

3 years ago, I met a guy named Sean at a finance conference. We had such a great conversation that I woke up the next morning and wrote this blog post about him. Well, yesterday down in Oaxaca, I met him again! We spent the entire day together drinking, eating, laughing and chatting about life. Read more about What really matters – part 2[…]

I didn’t wake up this morning to be mediocre… I woke up to learn I woke up to explore I woke up to make some new friends I woke up to contribute I woke up to surprise myself I woke up to be better than the person I was yesterday! What about you? “Beware the Read more about Beware of mediocrity[…]

vi·tal·i·ty noun 1. the state of being strong and active; energy. 2. the power giving continuance of life. Vitality Boosters = DO THIS – Eat a balanced diet – Exercise regularly – Sleep a full night – Get fresh air – Listen to music – Laugh Vitality Drainers = AVOID THIS – Drinking too much Read more about Stay healthy my friends[…]

Yesterday, a reader sent me this photo after visiting the Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina… I quickly ran over to show my wife (she loves trees and soil science) and asked her some questions… “Is that moss part of the tree? Or is it a different plant that’s sucking off the tree? Will the tree Read more about A “symbiotic” relationship[…]

The Two Travelers There was once a traveler who was walking from a village in the mountains to a village in the valley. As he walked along, he saw a monk working in a field and asked, “I’m on my way to the village in the valley, can you tell me what it’s like?” The Read more about The Two Travelers – A story about optimism and perspective[…]

About 6 months ago, one of my neighbors left this tiny note on my doorstep… It now lives at the bottom of my computer and I read it every day. It’s funny how such a tiny little note can improve someone’s day (or month, or year). The person who wrote it probably has no idea Read more about Make a note of it![…]

Self-care is not selfish. It’s a necessity. Sleep well, exercise and work out, eat healthy, reflect, read books, spend time outside, practice daily appreciation… All this stuff is needed (regularly!) so you can be your best self. Today: Carve time out for yourself. It’s the best favor you can do for everyone else. 🙂 Happy Read more about Self-care Sunday[…]

It’s weekend o’clock! Get up! Time to do: whatever you want to do. But whatever it is, make sure you do it with a smile on your face, and be sure to enjoy every single moment. You’ll never live this weekend again – so make the absolute most of it! Tick. Tock. Flowers from a Read more about GET UP – It’s the weekend[…]

Can you imagine if trees 🌳 could broadcast WiFi? We’d plant them everywhere! 🌳 🌳 🏡 🌳 🌳 Too bad they only produce oxygen, how lame 😜 ***** Today: Spend some time appreciating the earth’s natural resources. If we don’t take care of our planet, none of our man made stuff will even exist! Happy Read more about Earth Day Perspective 🌳[…]

A positive attitude has a magnetic force 🧲 that attracts similar and other positive thoughts… Positivity is contagious. Thoughts picked up by the subconscious mind are manifested into their physical equivalent… Think it = do it. Therefore… Positive thoughts = positive outcome. Negativity = crappy time for everyone. Your mind is the creator of most Read more about Always be positive. It makes things easier![…]

Mornin’ everyone. Yesterday, my Dad got some good news. He signed a new deal at at work. And while this might not mean much to you (it’s just a contract between two companies you’ve never heard of), it’s a very exciting time for him. Leading a life of celebration means joining in on other people’s Read more about Celebrate other people’s stuff![…]

Hello. Does anyone want to swap problems with me today? I’ll trade you. You give me the biggest problem you’re dealing with, and I’ll swap it for the biggest ugliest hairiest problem I’m currently dealing with. Want to trade? Think it will be a fair trade? Research shows that if everyone put their problems into Read more about Is your problem really that bad?[…]

What would you do if you won a $10M jackpot? Would you jump up and down? Would you be ridiculously happy the entire day with a smile from ear to ear? Would you let anyone ruin your day or bring you down? – Ah, no way! Well, that’s kind of how I feel every morning Read more about I won the lottery. You did too![…]

“Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up, it knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn’t matter whether you’re the lion or a gazelle – when Read more about Friday – run run run![…]

I heard this quote a number of years back and recently came across it in some notes… “There is an art of leaving things undone so that the greater thing can be done.” I am the queen of wanting everything to be done, and in the chaos of everything, I often don’t get the most Read more about Leave something undone – (guest post 🙋🏼‍♀️)[…]

Good morning! Fill in the blanks and read this out loud to yourself… It is Wednesday and today I’m going to ____(action)____!!! My first work meeting starts at ___(time)___ , but before that I’m going to ____(personal to-do)____! I will not let distractions such as ___(xyz)___ stop me from achieving ___(most important thing on your Read more about Blankety Blank Day[…]

Well hello there! I’ve got 2 awesome things to share with you today… 1) Happy Anniversary to you and me! This 5am morning email list was born on March 31st, 2017, exactly 4 years ago. Thank you so much for being a part of my life. I love you all. 2) My friends Alan & Katie Donegan Read more about 2 very exciting things…[…]

The only BS I’m interested in dealing with today is Beer and Sunshine. Tomorrow’s problems can be solved –> tomorrow. Not sure what BS you’ve got on your plate right now… But I wish you a happy and wonderful Sunday, whatever you get up to. Cheers!– Joel 🌴😎🍻

  “This is the real secret of life — to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.” Alan Watts.   Kids have a way of turning everything into a game. They find humor in regular stuff, imagine superpowers, sings Read more about The ‘real’ secret to life[…]

True or False?…. “As technology advances, life gets easier and we have more time up our sleeves”… Most people think this is false, but it’s actually true! A study shows that today we have about 7 hours more leisure time per week than folks did back in 1965! But why does it feel like we Read more about Where did all my time go?[…]

There’s a collective delusion that people have to choose between their well-being, and success. Like it’s either one or the other. But science tells us the opposite. They actually go hand in hand. When you prioritize your well-being —> performance goes up across the board. Today: Take care of #1. Cheers to a happy and Read more about Gotta take care of #1[…]

Today is the Spring Equinox! This means the sun will shine directly across the equator today, and we’ll have equal daylight and darkness time no matter where you live. Crazy! To welcome this change and celebrate today, here is your Spring Cleaning To Do list: Clean your house (vacuum) Clean your mind (meditate) Clean your Read more about Spring Cleaning To Do list[…]

Did you know… It’s takes 17 muscles in your face to smile, compared to 43 muscles when frowning? 😃 = 17 🙁 = 43 It’s more effort to be grumpy than it is to be happy! So today, smile more. It’s less work, you look better, it’s contagious, it boosts your mood, you’ll laugh more, Read more about Friday Smile[…]

First there’s: – Discomfort – Roadblocks – Frustration – Problems But then: – Success! 🏆 – Progress! ✅ – Confidence! 💪 – Celebration! 🎉 If you give up during the first list… You don’t get to experience the bottom list. Keep going! You’re doing great. Joel 💪     *Feature pic by Daria Nepriakhina!